Training Overview

Training in POSTDIGITAL+

Training is a central pillar of the POSTDIGITAL+ Doctoral Network, designed to equip doctoral candidates (DCs) with advanced scientific expertise, practical research experience, and a broad portfolio of transferable skills. The programme combines individual research-driven training, local graduate education, and network-wide activities, ensuring a balanced and comprehensive doctoral experience across academia and industry.

A Multi-Layered Training Programme

1. Core Research Training through Individual Research Projects

At the heart of POSTDIGITAL+ lies the individual research project of each doctoral candidate. Scientific training is delivered primarily through close interaction with the supervisory team and is tailored to the specific research topic within the programme’s work packages.

Each DC is supported by:

A primary and secondary academic supervisor
An external intersectoral mentor
A personalised Research Project, Training and Career Development Plan

This structure ensures continuous guidance, technical excellence, and regular monitoring of progress. Mandatory training, including health and safety requirements (e.g. laser safety), is delivered in line with local regulations.

All doctoral candidates are fully integrated into the Graduate School programmes of their host institutions. These programmes provide:

Discipline-specific courses related to the DC’s research topic
Transferable skills training (e.g. research integrity, IT skills, time management)
Lectures by invited academic and industrial speakers

Industry-based DCs are linked to partner academic institutions to ensure full access to Graduate School resources. Language training is also available to support integration into non-English-speaking environments.

2. Local Graduate School Training

3. Network-Wide Training Events
3.1 POSTDIGITAL+ Induction

The induction event introduces DCs to:

Research topics across the consortium
Individual DC projects and planned collaborations
Consortium expertise, techniques, and facilities

The Project Manager provides training on the MSCA framework, including communication, dissemination, outreach, and intellectual property. Social activities are embedded to support early interactions.

Expected outcomes:
DCs gain a clear overview of the research landscape, align with the programme’s objectives, and begin to take ownership of their role within POSTDIGITAL+.

Focused scientific events address specific research themes in postdigital technologies, photonics, and neuromorphic computing. These include invited talks from leading international experts and are designed to encourage in-depth discussions and networking.

Events are often open to the wider research community, strengthening links beyond POSTDIGITAL+ and increasing the programme’s visibility. Based on prior experience, these events typically attract around 50 participants, including PhD students and postdoctoral researchers.

Expected outcomes:

Exposure to state-of-the-art research
Deep technical learning
Interaction with international academic and industrial experts
Expansion of professional networks

3.2 Mini-Symposia and Open-To-All (OTA) Workshops

3.3 Annual POSTDIGITAL+ Workshops

The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Annual Workshops bring together the full network and Advisory Board for 2–3 days. Doctoral candidates present detailed updates on:

Research progress
Dissemination and outreach activities
Future plans

These workshops enable in-depth technical discussion, cross-project feedback, and strategic planning.

Expected outcomes:

Strengthened presentation and communication skills
Identification of new collaboration opportunities
Consolidation of the POSTDIGITAL+ research community

Secondments are a defining element of POSTDIGITAL+, enabling DCs to work within industrial or complementary academic environments. These placements:

Align closely with individual research objectives
Provide hands-on experience in different sectors
Support cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary exchange

Intersectoral mentoring is embedded from the start of the programme to ensure continuity between academic and industrial training.

4. Intersectoral Secondments

5. Transferable Skills and Career Development

POSTDIGITAL+ places strong emphasis on transferable skills training, preparing DCs for diverse career paths in academia and industry.

Key elements include:

Three dedicated Transferable Skills Workshops (TSW) over the programme
Training in scientific communication, grant writing, leadership, innovation, and open science
Sessions on mental health and wellbeing, including contributions from recognised experts
Ad-hoc guest presentations on topics such as science communication, professional networking, and AI tools for research

Additional training opportunities include:

Short courses and tutorials at major international conferences (e.g. ECOC, CLEO, SPIE)
Consortium-organised tutorial sessions tailored to specific research needs
Embedded language training to support cultural integration